The 2017-18 school year also marks a change in the school calendar, in which the school year begins for students after Labor Day, on Tuesday, Sept. 5. The decision was made in an executive order by Gov. Larry Hogan last year. It also mandated the public school year end by June 15.

Brian Bassett, a spokesman for the Howard County school system, said it is too early to evaluate any effects from the later start date.

“We will certainly use this year to evaluate possible ways to adapt next year’s calendar in order to minimize any impact the compacted academic year will have on instruction, professional learning for staff, student success and families,” Bassett said.

The calendar extends spring break from three to five days, with three of the five required inclement-weather makeup days in April. Spring break was moved from the week before Easter to the following week.

Ann Norton, a fourth-grade teacher at Northfield Elementary, said starting school after Labor Day will benefit teachers and students, giving teachers more time to prepare and students time to finish their summer activities.

“In the past, we’ve also had students who were absent from school because they were still on family vacations or some of them were visiting family overseas,” Norton said. “Hopefully, this will give us a better chance of having everybody in school when school starts with those vacations and things done.”

School officials say all families receive a hard copy of the 2017-2018 calendar at the start of the year. Print-friendly and online calendars are available on the website hcpss.org. Families also will receive a paper copy of the 2017-2018 Student and Parent Handbook.

Also online is the school system’s new school and bus locator that features a mobile friendly format. Families can type in an address to see the child’s school and bus schedule. For the first week of school, parents are asked to ensure students arrive at bus stops early.

—?Andrew Michaels